CTHRA Reports Industry Compensation Trends and Benchmarks

Philadelphia, October 19, 2006 – Yesterday at the Cable and Telecommunications Human Resources Association’s (CTHRA) Achieving Excellence Symposium in Philadelphia, Hali Croner of The Croner Company presented key highlights from CTHRA’s 2006 compensation research. The research session featured key benchmarks and emerging trends based on data collected from 63 companies for 93,100 executive, professional, administrative, sales and hourly incumbents across a multitude of disciplines.

Research Scope and Objectives
CTHRA conducts two compensation surveys, one for cable and telecommunications operators and another for cable programmers and broadcast networks, on an annual basis to establish industry benchmarks, identify trends and track statistics over time. The research focuses on total direct compensation, base salaries, total cash compensation (base plus bonus), total direct compensation (base plus bonus plus value of equity), regional pay differentials, specialty pay differentials, pay policies, plan designs and practices.

“CTHRA’s Annual Compensation Report provides industry-specific information that is invaluable for companies seeking to assess their practices and identify opportunities to enhance their ability to attract and retain the best and brightest talent,” shared Lynne Ramsey, senior vice president of human resources for Charter Communications, CTHRA board member, and co-chair of CTHRA’s compensation research initiative.

Sixteen companies participated in the operator survey, including seven of the 10 largest multiple system operators (MSOs) and three satellite delivery providers. Forty-two programmers participated, including all of the top 20 national cable networks and five national broadcast networks.

Emerging Trends

• Companies from diverse industries are becoming business and labor market competitors.
• The success of the Internet as alternative channel is driving the creation of digital media divisions.
• Advertising sales beginning to create the multi-media or “blended” sales executive, selling for television, online and other channels.
• Digital broadcast platforms are blurring technical operations and information technology (IT) roles.

Notable Highlights

• Technical personnel experienced the greatest base salary movement in the past year
• Half of all participants changed their equity plan design in the past year, with the most prevalent change being the introduction of restricted stock into the plans or a change to restricted stock only.
• Actual bonus awards reflected strong performance in 2005. On average, actual bonus awards were 104 percent of target among operators and 102 percent of target among programmers (programmer results exclude sales positions).
• Average Annual Change in Base Salaries Across All Positions

To purchase CTHRA’s 2006 Compensation Report or to participate in CTHRA’s 2007 surveys, contact Sabrina Smith at The Croner Company 415.485.5543. For more information about CTHRA, visit www.cthra.com or call 630.416.1166.

About CTHRA
The Cable and Telecommunications Human Resources Association (CTHRA) is a nonprofit association committed to helping industry professionals leverage effective human resources strategies to improve organizational and industry-wide success. CTHRA provides its growing membership with original human resources information and resources, networking opportunities and educational programs. CTHRA’s groundbreaking initiatives include the annual CTHRA Compensation Report and its Symposium Series. For more information, visit www.cthra.com.

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